


Wish Granted

by ConfessionForAnotherTime



Series: Aquarium Therapy [2]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Agender Character, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Universe Alterations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 20:10:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4638630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConfessionForAnotherTime/pseuds/ConfessionForAnotherTime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Carolina and Sharkface settle into life after the war, they each have their own ways of dealing with fights.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wish Granted

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday, Buncy. <3

Each morning was the same. Carolina would pull herself out of bed, even as their strong arms hugged her and would pull on her not to get out of bed. She would lean back and whisper she needed to get up, that the day had started, that she needed to get moving. Sharkface always grumped and pulled the blanket over their head, not wanting to wake just yet. Carolina started breakfast not long after, luring them out of bed with the promises of pancakes and bacon. The war had settled and the two had also settled into a life of normalcy, slowly learning how to live without a fight constantly licking at their heels. The pair had settled down more, slowing down so that the both of them could explore what life was like without the need to be on their toes for every minute of the day.

Some days were easier than others and they each sought ways to cope for those bad days that peppered into the good. Carolina found it usually proved easier to run her problems out more than anything, getting her heart pumping until she realized that there was nothing left in her that made her afraid, made her falter, made her wonder. Her blood pumping was what she needed then.

Sharkface was a different matter. They usually went for a more violent approach at first, or so she thought until she noticed the small origami shark on her desk one morning. She didn’t remember seeing it there, and they never outright told her when they were upset. She always had to guess, which usually led to more fights, more hurt feelings, more broken glass. The small shark had a heart on the fin and she smiled, until further inspection told her there was writing on the inside. She didn’t want to unfold the small creation, but she did anyway, carefully paying attention to the hard creases and folds so that maybe, she could put it back the way it was.

‘I love you - don’t be upset with what I said last night.’

She stood there, dumbstruck at the words that stared at her from the inside of the small green shark. It changed the morning more than she realized. She still had pulled away from them when she woke up. When she had stormed off to bed the night before, they had gone out the front door at that point, their feet crunching over the broken glass from where she had thrown a drinking glass at them. Checking the kitchen, she found no broken glass, but another shark, blue this time, sat on the counter.

‘I’m sorry - I didn’t know that would upset you.’

She had paid less attention to how this shark was assembled, instead leaning against the counter. _There’s no way they could have known_. She still felt responsible, yet she was happy that they had cleaned up the glass after they had come back from their fight. She headed to the bathroom once she finished making breakfast, storing the pancake for the moment in the microwave. She looked in the mirror, bags heavy on her face. She had kept her hair short after Project Freelancer and she needed to cut it again. She needed to dye it again more, but raking her fingers through her hair to push it out of her face, she dismissed the thought for now. She opened the cabinet absently, finding a small red shark this time, tearing it open without even thinking this time.

‘Next time - I won’t run away when we fight.’

Carolina folded the paper neatly when she left the bathroom as she headed to the bedroom to wake them up. She dismissed the thought of telling them what she had found.

“Mako, time to get up, I made breakfast.” She shook them gently and they turned over in bed, pulling the blanket up higher.

“This isn’t some ploy to get me out of bed so we can yell more is it?” they asked a few minutes later after she had sat next to them on the bed.

Carolina shook her head. “Not at all. Come on. I’m sorry. Come eat breakfast with me.”

“You made breakfast?” They pulled the blanket off their head, swinging their legs out of bed and getting up. “Wow, you must really be sorry.” They extended their hand, helping her up. “I’m sorry too.”

“I know you are.”

\---

She left them to go about their daily routine. As she washed the dishes from the kitchen, she kept an eye on where they were in regards to how much she could get done without them knowing. When Sharkface headed from the pool to their small crafting studio, she headed to the other end of the house to her office. She had looked for their origami paper long before heading to her office, yet found none, frowning at her predicament. She looked for printer paper, checking the internet for tutorials on how to complete her task. As she searched for a pencil to write her own messages, she found several sheets of origami paper, much to her surprise.

“Might as well.” She grabbed the sheet of aqua paper, smiling at the coincidence. Pulling her laptop closer, she wrote her message on the inside and looked back to the screen. _Make a hard crease to fold the paper in half evenly._ She shrugged, finding the directions simple enough as she folded more of her paper to make her crane like the one on the screen. When she finished, she found hers was lopsided and slightly uneven. She frowned because she didn’t want to present them with something that looked like it had been slapped together but went to find them anyway.

“Mako?” she asked quietly when she went into their craft room. They sat at their easel, dipping their paintbrush into the watercolors to their side.

“Yes, Lina?” they asked, eyes still glued to the canvas. She shook her head and they turned around. She nodded for them to keep going, to finish their painting while she waited. When they finished, she was surprised this time by it not just being a solitary shark in an ocean. They had painted a large field, complete with depictions of trees and a lake near by.

“Is that home?” she asked quietly when they finished, setting their brush down and turning to look at her. They nodded and held their arms out to her.

“It is. If you sit on the rooftop, this is the view you get.” They hummed softly when she took the few steps forward, hugging their head to her chest. They pulled away from her after a moment. “It’s a happy place. It may be far away, but it’s home.” She nodded, brushing her fingers over the side of their face. She presented them with the paper crane. She shrugged softly.

“I found the sharks you left for me. I wanted to return the favor though. Problem is I found out I suck at making them.” She shifted nervously in front of them as a small smile spread across their face.

“You did this for me? Even after the fight?” They turned the crane over, grin spreading. “You know it’s still pretty good for a first try right?” Carolina cocked her head in surprise.

“Oh… no. I didn’t know that. I just thought it looked nothing like the picture I found on the internet. I wanted to do better. I even left a note on the inside for you.” She pointed to the crane again, still nervous. They opened up the crane, shoulders slumping. They pulled her close again.

‘I didn’t mean what I said. I’m sorry and I don’t ever want you to think that you’re a burden. Not to me or anyone else. I love you Mako and I made a mistake.’

Her scrawling print covered most of the inside of the crane. She pet their hair and held onto them.

“Terr---Mako, I didn’t mean it. I know that doesn’t make it right, but I’m sorry and I wanted to find a way for that to come through. Even if it’s not perfect, I still want you to know that you mean everything to me.” Carolina’s fingers traced the scars at the back of their head as they pulled back and guided her to move so they could stand up. They enveloped her in a hug not long after.

“Caro---Natalie, it’ll take more than a few words than that for me to stop considering you family. You gave me that second chance, so wished granted, here’s yours.” They smiled at her, leaning down for a kiss. She kissed them back, looking puzzled when they pulled away.

“Wish granted?” she asked, still not getting the context.

“Yeah, paper cranes are used to grant wishes, though usually you have to have a certain amount of them for your wish to come true. Did you not know that?” They cocked their head in puzzled confusion, smile spreading on their lips. She shook her head in return. “Then it’s time to educate you. I picked up the craft myself from one of the others in my squad, Hitomi. I think I mentioned her.”

Carolina nodded again as they led her out of the craft room and to their dining room table, pulling out several sheets of origami paper. “Wasn’t she the one who you picked your name from?”  
“Yeah,” they replied with a nod. “To honor her. She was one of the first of us to go, even before we started fighting your forces. Still, she was family.”

“And family is something you don’t forget.”


End file.
